Kayla "Reiyami" Smith brings you the details from a panel consisting of Curt Schilling, Todd McFarlane, R. A. Salvatore and Ken Rolston. Read how these visionaries are paving the way for their upcoming MMO.

Curt Schilling, Todd McFarlane, R. A. Salvatore, Ken Rolston

With a dream team consisting of three-time World Series champion Curt Schilling, Spawn creator and artistic visionary Todd McFarlane, best-selling author R. A. Salvatore, and the talented and experienced game designer Ken Rolston, it's hard to imagine a game that wouldn't be epic. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an upcoming single-player action RPG coming from 38 Studios and is the first game set in the Amalur universe. More content will be coming from the new property, including an MMO codenamed Copernicus.

Schilling is a man who is not used to losing. The team is all in to create a setting that will be strong, consistent and fun as hell. Schilling says, "We're going out with a new IP. No one's ever heard of us before, but everyone knows these guys. So we've got a preexisting audience that will check into Reckoning at some point. That's all I can ask. I want you to look at the game. If you don't stick around and play, that's on us. That's a gamble and that's a risk I'm willing to take."

I recently visited Big Huge Games' Maryland studio and attended a panel with this impressive team. Read on to see how Schilling took his idea and reached out to some of the leading visionaries in their fields to bring Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning to life. Also, be sure to check out our first look at the game's demo.

Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling has been playing video games for more than 30 years. When he wasn't too busy winning world championships as a Major League Baseball pitcher, he was playing Ultima Online and Dungeons & Dragons. Schilling is the founder and owner of 38 Studios, and the company began, in its very early stages, in a TeamSpeak EverQuest raid channel. Schilling wanted to take all the talk about how to make a better game and push it a step further. "There was 11 of us at the first day of this company's founding, and we quickly realized that we needed to have some heavyweights from a visionary perspective. I went to the top of the food chain," Schilling said.

Schilling and McFarlane had known each other for 11 years, since Schilling played baseball in Arizona. He quickly reached out to him for the pitch. Being a fantasy fan, Schilling immediately thought of Salvatore's work and was able to get him on the phone. Schilling said, "I was a huge fan and he's a Red Sox fan, so it went well. That was the kick-off, and that was when you guys (press) probably first heard of us."

Rolston came along to the project when 38 Studios stepped in to join with Big Huge Games. Rolston, a long-time veteran of game design (including his work on The Elder Scrolls series), is lending a very experienced hand to an ambitious project.

With his dream team assembled, Schilling instantly faced the uphill battle that is creating a new game. "Someone posted on the forum, 'Schilling, Salvatore, McFarlane = MMO? This is gonna be the Hindenburg all over again,' which I loved." said Schilling. He was looking for a challenge. Schilling set out to make a great game, and you can instantly tell from listening to him that this is no gimmick. He's genuinely passionate about the project and incredibly involved in the entire process. He is a man who is used to being the best. He's taking that drive and ambition and is turning it into the Amalur universe.

Not long after the companies merged, the story Salvatore created instantly clicked with the team creating the RPG. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was beginning to come together, in an instant and organic way.

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